Dangui

(; also written with the characters《》; ), was also called (), (), (), (), and (), is a type of (upper garment) for women in , the Korean traditional clothing, which was worn for ceremonial occasions during the Joseon dynasty. It was typically a garment item reserved for the upper class and commoners of this period would rarely see anyone in this garment. It was worn as a simple official outfit or for small national ceremonies while court ladies wore it as a daily garment.

Origins

It is strongly asserted that Dangui originated from ''jangjeogori'' ( 장저고리; ''long jeogori''), which was worn before the early Joseon Dynasty.

Scholars of the Joseon Dynasty had a theory that the origin of Dangui dates back to the time when the Chinese clothing system was introduced to Korea between 57 BC and 668 AD, during the Three Kingdoms period of Korea. This is because the Chinese character 《唐》 was assumed to refer to the Tang Dynasty. However, it is judged that this was an erroneous claim, considering that the clothing characteristics of Dangui appeared in the middle of the 17th century according to the excavation of related relics.

Whether the theory is probable or not, it is certain that was worn during the Joseon period, based on historical documents and remains. The scholar, Yi Jae (李縡 1680 ~ 1746) mentioned in his book, 《》 which defines four important rites based on Confucianism. In the chapter, 《》on the coming of age ceremonies, the () was commonly called and its length reaches to the knees and its sleeves are narrow. It is also a woman's (; ), a daily garments when working.

Construction and design

The form of is similar to that of ; however, the length of both the front and back side of the reach to the knees-level and is triple to that of .

The characteristic design purpose of the is to emphasize the beauty of the 's curvy lines. The side seams are open to the armpit and are curved in shape. When making a ''dangui'' with a yellowish green fabric, the color for the inner fabric and for (), which is the ribbons tied at the chest, is red and purple respectively. Two ' are attached at the left side of (), which is a fabric band of that trims the collar while one short ' is at the git's right side.

The sleeves of are narrow. At the end of the sleeves of , there is , a kind of white border band attached. The white border band is an indication that it is a type of ceremonial garment.

The materials, along with the decorations and colours used in the , differed based on the social status of its wearer, on the occasions when it had to be worn, and on the seasons.

Lining and padding

In addition, the can be divided into two types depending on its layer: the (), which is a double layered , and the (), which is a single-layered . The was also called () or (). The was usually worn during winter while the in summer.

As the Queen had worn a white made of a single fabric the day before the Dano festival, which falls on the 5th day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, every women at court followed the trend and change their clothing to the single layered one the next day. Likewise, when the Queen began to wear a double layered the day before Chuseok, an event which celebrates on every 15th day of August in the lunar calendar, all women in the palace changed their clothing to the double layered the next day.

Colours and decorations

Colours

The queen consort, the king's concubines, (court matron), and women (nobility) wore the garment over a short jacket called . According to colour, there were yellowish green, pale green, purple, navy, dark blue, and white-colored and others, but yellowish green coloured one was the most commonly worn during the time. Each colour also has its own unique association with the seasons: purple were used for the winter solstice, pale green was for spring, and white was for the Dano, in the summer after the Dano, or were used as mourning attire for a state funeral. The purple was used by the queen in winter. The dark blue appears to have been used by low-ranking court ladies, who wore it on important events, such as royal wedding.

Decorations

The for women at court strictly represented the wearer's rank, whereas the for commoners was not allowed to have any style used for the former. The for the Queen, princesses or other royalty, (gold leaf) patterns were decorated from the shoulder part through the end of the sleeves, as well as the front and back side, and '.

In the patterns, illustrations of flower or bats or characters which symbolizes auspicious themes, such as 《壽》which uses the Chinese character 《》and expresses wishes for longevity; 《福》which uses the Chinese character 《》which expresses wishes for good fortune; and 《》which uses the Chinese character 《》, commonly known as double happiness in English, which expresses wishes for a blessed marriage. For the Queen, patterns depicting the phoenix were also used. Official rank badge called or the royal badge called could also be sewn on the chest area of the according to its wearer ranks.

Wedding dress

When the was worn as a wedding dress, the bride wore it over a (a wrapping skirt) and . The wearer also put a (a form of Korean ) on the head, attached a , a type of accessory to the , and wore a pair of shoes made of silk. Since it was easy to wear and neat, the eventually became one of commonly worn wedding clothing among commoners during the Joseon dynasty.

Gallery

File:Korean costume-Hanbok-Dangui-Seuranchima-01.jpg, Models in red dangui
File:Seoul-Gyeongbokgung-Chinjamrye-01.jpg, Models of gungnyeo, lady-in-waiting in green dangui
File:Korean clothing-Hanbok-Dangui-Cheopji-Norigae.jpg, A model of a royal woman in a green dangui
File:Korean.Dance-Buchaechum-02.jpg, A dancer in a white ''dangui'' performing '' buchaechum'' (a fan dance)

See also

*Jeogori
* Po
* Wonsam
* Hwarot

References

{{Reflist

Korean clothing
Folk costumes